About
Every horse in our herd has its own story, and every experience we offer is guided by our commitment to ethical riding, natural horsemanship, and the lifelong wellbeing of our horses.
Behind Spirit of the Horse is founder Vici Burgess, whose lifelong passion for horses, professional expertise in equine science and nutrition, and years of working with rescue horses have shaped everything we do. Her journey has brought together science, horsemanship, and holistic healing to create a place where both horses and people can reconnect with nature, trust, and themselves.
meet vici
Victoria is English Australian and started riding at 6 years old. By age 10 she was spending weekends at the local riding school learning the feeds, care and treatments of all the different horses. By 12 years old she was lucky enough to own a horse in her small Yorkshire country town. She trained her second pony to show jump and made it to the Yorkshire reserves team.
Her first degree was International Tourism Management which took her traveling all over the World, riding and working with horses was always a transferable skill. She studied a Masters in Equine Science and took her Reiki Practitioner qualifications at 25.
Moving to Australia was a dream come true, she was sponsored as a Horse Nutritionist and trained by Ranvet in the Veterinary/Racing industry. She then managed a Racehorse re-training and re-homing program and volunteered her services to Rescue Project Hope. Drugs testing racehorses and offering reiki for horses on the side, she returned to equine nutrition working for the largest company in the World, Kentucky Equine Research.
During this time Vici began working with the Grandmother Ayahuasca and made numerous trips to India to study Buddhism. Her spiritual path became further embodied working with Shamanic Earth Medicine, assisting with Wachuma and Kambo ceremonies, training as a Rapeh practitioner and learning the profound skills of Power Animal journeying with drum medicine. Additionally discovering the frequencies of sound bathing with Crystal Bowl Therapy with an intensive course.
On arrival in Costa Rica she completed her Yoga Teacher Training with School Yoga Institute and Equine Yoga Teacher Training with Kindred Spirits, ultimately bringing her back to the Caribe coast and the beautiful town of Puerto Viejo.
During Covid, Australia became too much and Vici escaped to Costa Rica having studied herbalism on a previous trip, the jungle was calling and she exported her heart horse Ebony, and dog Simba to Costa Rica to begin again.
It wasn’t long before the skinny horses, the traumatized horses and the forgotten horses started to accumulate and one by one, rehabilitation, love and trust was established. Each has their unique story. Each has become family.
Vici is proud to offer Ethical Horse Rides on the beaches of the Caribbean and share the healing medicine of the horses with everyone who visits.
"When horses have released their trauma (human inflicted) and decide to trust us, it is an honour and a privilege to work beside them and share their unique heart medicine with the World.”
~ Vici Burgess